France doesn't want Assad's departure

French President Emmanuel Macron said Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s resignation was not a prerequisite for action in Syria at a press conference alongside US counterpart Donald Trump in Paris, Thursday.

“We have one main goal, which is to eradicate terrorism, no matter who they are. We want to build an inclusive and sustainable political solution. Against that background, I do not require Assad’s departure. This is no longer a prerequisite for France to work on that,” he said.

Answering a journalist question on the meeting between his son Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer, Trump downplayed the meeting’s significance saying, “it is very standard where they have information and you take the information. In the case of Don, he listened” but asserted that “nothing happened from the meeting. Zero happened from the meeting. And I think that the press made a big deal over something that really a lot of people would do”.

Macron’s policy on Assad completely differs from his predecessor, Francois Hollande, as he calls for dialogue and a peaceful resolution in Syria.